Persona: Requiem of Souls
by SkyfireDragoon
Summary: Shadows and Persona aren't exclusive to Japan. Find out what happens when an American teen discovers the power of persona and a deeper mystery behind it.


_I'm just going to put this as a forward, a lot of this is OC. There will probably be some visits from the P4 cast eventually, but it's unlikely that they will play a large role. For the most part, the characters and plot are my own content, but I borrow heavily from the Persona mythos and Jungian psychology, which itself is a large base of inspiration for the Persona series._

**Welcome to the Velvet room**

Isaac woke up, and for a few seconds, everything was normal. Then he noticed he wasn't in his room. All the furnishings he could see were colored in a deep blue. The room itself looked very professional, a bookshelf, filled to bursting, a small waiting table with two cheap chairs flanking it. Another more finely decorated table housed a stenograph, and behind it sat a woman with shoulder-length wavy blonde hair. She was dressed all in blue, and a large book sat next to the stenograph before her. A large, ornate desk occupied the center of the room. A man sat behind this desk, bloodshot eyes staring right through Isaac, balding head reflecting the dull light that had no visible source, and a nose that went from here to the next room. He spoke. "Welcome... to the velvet room."

The man gestured with a single gloved hand, before speaking "My my, it appears as if we have somebody with a very intriguing destiny" He said, placing both hands beneath his chin, "My name is Igor. I am delighted to meet you. This is a room that exists Between. Between dream and reality, between mind and matter. Only those who are bound by a contract may enter. It is possible such an agreement lies in your future. Now, how about you? Why don't you tell us your name?"

Isaac blinked in surprise. "Uhh, I'm Isaac, Isaac Masters."

"Excellent. Let's see what the future holds in store for you, shall we?" He waved a hand over the table, and a set of cards appeared before him. "Now, tell me, Isaac, do you believe in fortune telling?"

"Well, I've never had cause to request it before."

"Well, we shall see if it will be useful, won't we?" He said, flipping the first card in order "Ah, the hanged man, in the upright position. He represents a future event that is very near, indeed. You shall be presented with a choice to which there are only two answers. Yes or No, In or Out."

He flipped over the second and third cards at the same time. "These two cards represent the paths branching off of your decision. The first, is the tower, in the upright position. This card represents a great disaster that will befall you. The other... Hm... this is the World, in the upright position. This card represents a situation where the entire world will be on your shoulders. It seems as though this choice will lead you to either a great disaster, or a great responsibility will be forced upon you. Soon you shall enter into a contract, and then you shall return here. The choice shall be yours, but beware, the choice you make may affect more than just yourself. My duty shall be to assist you in any way possible. To aid me in this, let me introduce my assistant. She is a resident of this realm, as I am"

The woman in blue nodded, "My name is Margaret," she said "I will provide assistance as you begin and proceed through your journey."

"I shall explain more when next we meet," Igor chuckled "but for now, farewell."

Isaac's vision swam as the blue -or was it velvet?- room faded to black around him. He sat up where he knew he would be, pressing his palms down on his eyes until colors danced. He opened his eyes to the dim sunlight flooding in through his dorm's window. _Man, what a freaky dream, maybe that milk was expired. _A loud buzzing reached his ears then. He looked over at his alarm clock, _Crap, I'm late!_

After grabbing a breakfast of half-burned toast half-smothered with butter, he was out the door at a run. Grumbling about why school had to be this early in the morning. The bell rang just as he turned onto the school campus. Homeroom passed uneventfully, just like every day. He moved between classes for each period, taking notes and turning in homework, but his dream kept coming back to him. It bothered him that he still remembered it, when most dreams disappeared as soon as he awoke. _It was so real, too, I swear, I almost felt his nose poke me in the eye. _Final bell rang above his head and he watched as the rest of the class poured out into the hallway. He got up after the rush had died down. "Ah, Mr. Masters, Could you stay behind for just a minute? I could use your help with something."

Isaac shrugged and walked over to the teacher's desk "Sure thing, what did you need, Mr. Callor?"

"Well, it's actually about this group project I'm planning. I have most of the groups set, but you appear to be a remainder when all the groups are even. So, take a look at this," He presented Isaac with a clipboard, "And tell me which group you'd like to join."

Isaac looked up and down the paper attached to the clipboard. The names of his classmates were divided into groups of four, with the groups numbered one through seven, and Isaac's name sitting alone at the bottom. "I'll take group number eight" he said.

Mr. Callor raised an eyebrow, "There are only seven groups, Mr. Masters."

"I know, I'll work alone."

"Are you sure? There's no one you'd like to work with?"

"If the groups are even right now, I wouldn't want to go and mess that up."

Mr. Callor heaved a sigh, "Alright Mr. Masters, if you're sure." He scribbled on his clipboard for a second. Isaac turned to leave, "There's just one more thing, Mr. Masters, You seemed... distracted today. Is there anything wrong?"

The scene from his dream flashed across his mind, and he frowned, drawing his eyebrows together, he licked his lips once before he spoke, "Nothing, really, Mr. Callor, I've just been having some trouble sleeping, is all."

Mr. Callor smiled as he folded his hands and rested his chin on them, "Is that so? Well, maybe a glass of warm milk after finishing your homework would help you settle down for the night."

Isaac frowned even more deeply and readjusted his backpack. He made his way to the door and lifted a hand in farewell "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Callor."

The morning sun must have died somewhere between noon and now, as the overcast sky left a gray pallor over everything in the city. Isaac felt a small shiver run up his body. _It's much too cold for this early in the year. Weather like this should have the decency to at least wait for Halloween. _He started walking the familiar path to his dorm building.

His steps echoed normally in the usual alley he cut through to get to his street, but something was off. A phosphorescent door that, as early as six hours earlier, hadn't existed at all. He stared at the door. It looked to be made of wood, if wood came in raincloud gray and acted as its own light source. There was molding around the door frame. Isaac couldn't tell exactly what the images depicted, but it looked like a dog trying to wrestle and alligator.

Isaac's self-presevation instinct was screaming at him. Turn and run, ignore the door, just go on your merry way home. Something about the door had him entranced. He looked either way to make sure no one was watching, and he reached out for the doorknob. It opened into nothing.

Not the brick wall of the building that would have been there on any other day but just... nothing. This particular nothing was entirely too hostile as well, staring at him with unparalleled malice. Well, with all the malice that could be mustered by a doorway into an inky black nothingness, which was a surprising amount, given the lack of a face. Unfortunately, none of this stopped Isaac's feet from taking those last two steps into the Nothingness.

It wasn't nothing anymore. In fact it looked an awful lot like a jail cell. Three walls were flat beige stone, with the one other wall consisting of bars. Something seemed off to Isaac though. He looked behind him again. What was it? _There's no door... There's NO DOOR! How did I get in? How do I get OUT?!_

He ran his hands frantically over the smoothed surface looking for some evidence that he had entered. The last crack examined, he slumped to the floor and put his head in his hands. _I must be asleep. Same as that dream from last night. Did I ever get home, though?_

"You didn't you know"

"What?" Isaac said, looking up and staring into the eyes of...

Himself.

It was impossible, but there he stood every detail captured perfectly. He was standing before himself. Perhaps worse, he was talking with himself. There was one major difference. The doppelganger's eyes were all yellow with just a pinprick of darkness for the pupil's. "W-Who are you?!"

"What, can't you tell? I'm you." a malicious smile played across the doppelganger's face.

Isaac opened his mouth to retort, but the doppelganger cut him off. "What more do you need? I already look like us, and that's all we have."

"That's not..."

" 'I have no friends! Please, someone, give me some attention because I'm ALONE!' and then we push away anyone who even seems like they're trying to get close, so that we can get even more attention! It's quite the set-up we've got going on."

"That's not true! That's not me!"

"'Mommy left, and Daddy stopped caring! Oh woe is me! I'll never let anyone near me again! Please, someone, tell me that I matter!'"

"STOP! Stop it!"

"But we don't matter, do we? All they see when they look at us is a freak, wallowing in his own self-pity. Oh, but we can just use that to get some more attention, can't we?"

"SHUT UP! You're not me! YOU'RE NOT ME!"

"Heh. Hahaha! That's right!" he smiled then, and it literally split his face. The skin that had been on the top half sloughed away to reveal scaled onyx skin with pearl white horns every few inches.

"Push EVERONE away! We don't need anyone! Not even ourselves!" It took a step towards him, with feet that now ended in talons that clicked against the stone floor. Isaac pressed himself against the wall. Fear gripped him. He couldn't scream, couldn't open his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will himself awake.

There was no escape. It was something he knew suddenly. The only way out is through the creature. _How am I supposed to fight this monster, though?_ Underneath his hand he could feel... something. He grasped it firmly and used his other hand to push himself to his feet. He held out the hand that held his newly found weapon. It was a lance wholly as long as he was tall, and bore a tip made of a silvery metal.

He held the lance before him in both hands. The creature was still advancing. It raised one taloned hand and brought it down towards Isaac. He held the lance up above his head and blocked the strike with a wooden thunk and a poignant protest from his shoulders. Isaac gritted his teeth and twisted under the weight of the monstrous hand. He set his feet and lashed out with a two handed thrust that bit into... well, it could probably still be called an abdomen without being wrong.

The creature roared and swatted Isaac with the back of one now oversized hand, knocking Isaac back into the wall. He used his lance to push himself back to his feet. His stomach was on fire, and he had a coppery taste in my mouth. _I won't lose! I don't think I have a choice. _The Beast had turned towards him again. It opened what must have passed for its mouth and spoke in a roar. "I am a shadow, The true self! Fighting me is pointless, you'll just leave even more alone than you walked in!"

Isaac clamped his mouth shut, his will was iron. He slammed the butt of his lance against the ground. The silvery tip was glowing with a soft blue light. He ran forward with a roar to rival the beasts. It launched it's hand towards Isaac, but he stepped to the side and drove his lance deep into where that arm met the body. Black goo dripped from the wounds and the beast shrieked.

It tried to flatten him against another wall. He saw it coming the time, and tried to duck out of the way. When he did his chest cried out, reminding him that he had already been tossed around and didn't appreciate it. Isaac crumpled to the ground, but managed to keep a hold of the spear. He rolled onto his back, and was looking up into the face of the beast. Saliva dripped from its mouth as Isaac raised his lance just as the beast dropped it's gaping jaw towards Isaac's head.

They met in the middle and the dripping stopped. Isaac opened his eyes and saw nothing but the ceiling of the prison. Even his lance had disappeared. He stood himself up despite the pain in his back and chest. The Not-Isaac that had started all of this was standing there. He looked at the walls as though they were admonishing him for being an idiot.

"I'm... I won't deny it. I've thought that way before. Even if people were looking at me with pity in their eyes... at least they were looking at me. It made me feel like... like somebody cared, even if it was just in passing. I hated being alone so much that I pretended that the people who would point and stare were my friends."

Not-Isaac closed his eyes, letting a sad smile play across his face. Blue light played underneath the skin of his face and a blue gas lifted in bubbles up from everything beneath his neck. A voice spoke in Isaac's mind **I am thou, and thou art I. The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest, and you have acquired the persona Bahamut**. Not-Isaac disappeared in a flash of blue-white light and in it's place stood a large dragon with glossy black scales and wings that would have blocked the prison bars and more if they had been unfurled.

The ephemeral dragon dipped it's head in acknowledgment before it disappeared. Ping! Isaac looked down at the source of the sound. A small metal key had appeared on the ground. It was warm in his hand. He saw in front of him a keyhole had appeared, hovering in the air. He tried his new key in the ghostly lock. A click, then a whoosh, and the same door he had come in opened before him once more. He stepped through with confidence this time and emerged in the alley.

The sun was shining again, but only in crimson rays that heralded the coming sunset. _How long was I in there? _He put an arm over his still pained chest. _Well, it definitely wasn't a dream. _He took a deep breath, making him wince again, and walked -slowly- back to his dorm room. As soon as his door was locked he collapsed onto his mattress and fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes he was in the blue -Velvet?- room again. The surroundings were exactly the same, save for an open pad of paper on Igor's desk. Both Igor and Margaret were looking right at him. "Do we really have to do this right now guys? I'm exhausted, and everything hurts right now"

Igor chuckled dryly "Relax, master Isaac, I have merely called you here in your dreams. Your true body is still asleep in your bed. Now, it appears as if you have attained great power. Since you have heard the call of your destiny and accepted it, we are going to guide you in how to use this new power."

Margaret picked up her book and opened it to a bookmarked page. She began to read from it aloud, but Isaac felt as if she didn't even need the book. "The power you have obtained is called 'Persona'. It is a mask that people wear when they face life's many hardships"

"Yes," Igor said, "And you have taken control of your persona. This is an uncommon talent and may come to aid you in the coming months. Here in the Velvet Room, we shall teach you how to harness the power of your persona! The only thing we ask in return is that you sign this document. All it says is that you will accept full responsibility for all of your actions."

Isaac stepped up to the contract and looked down at it. Igor hadn't been lying, that was all it said. He looked up at Igor, who stared at him with those huge, bloodshot eyes, and then over at Margaret, who watched him impassively. _Well, if I have this power, I may as well know how to use it. _He took up the pan that sat next to the sheet of paper, and scrawled his signature on the line.

Igor chuckled again, "Very good, oh very good! Margaret, if you would."

"Yes, sir. The power of a Persona comes from your heart. The power of your heart comes from those you choose to have close to you. We refer to these as Social Links. You build social links by spending time bonding with those closest to you. You must become closer to many people in order to strengthen the power of your heart, and by extension, your persona. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Isaac said, biting his lip, "but I'm afraid I might be the wrong person for this job. I'm... I'm not really close to anyone."

"No matter." said Igor, "I'm sure that shall change, soon enough."

"There is always time to change who you are." Margaret said, and Isaac didn't think that line came out of some book, "Do not fear the changes you see, and move forward through them. You can become close to people, and you can reach your true destiny. I believe in you."

Isaac didn't speak for a moment. "For now, we must part. The next time you see us, you shall come here of your own accord. The key you obtained alongside your persona shall open the way. For now, Farewell."

The Velvet room wavered and faded to black, and Isaac heard the familiar sound of his alarm was pulling him back into consciousness once more.


End file.
